The present invention relates generally to the field of spoked bicycle wheels and, in particular, an anti-friction bearing interposed at the crossing-over point between two spokes of a bicycle wheel.
There have already been proposed for some time spoked bicycle wheels, in which at the crossing-over point of at least one pair of spokes there is set a support. One solution of this type is, for example, known from the German patent application DE-A-3 226 357, published on Jan. 19, 1984. The body set at the crossing-over point between two spokes has normally been used in the past for supporting, for instance, a permanent magnet designed to co-operate with a sensor carried by the fork of the bicycle for detecting the speed of rotation of the wheel. Another support of the type presented above is described in EP-A-1 031 502.
The above-mentioned support envisages a body provided with a groove, designed to fit, by snap action, on a spoke. The fitting of a grooved body on the spoke of a bicycle wheel is, on the other hand, well-known in the prior art (see, for example, the German patent DE-C-0 582 991, published on Aug. 10, 1933). A further solution of a body provided with two grooves on two opposite faces for mounting between two spokes in the area in which they cross over one another is known from EP-A-1 043 177.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive bearing having a simplified structure that can be set between the cross-over point of two spokes of a bicycle wheel with a more stable anchorage.
The bearing is characterized by a body having at least one through hole to receive one of the aforesaid two spokes and an external portion configured for contact with the other spoke.
The bearing according to the invention does present the need to be fitted over a respective spoke before that spoke is completely mounted on the wheel. This drawback in the installation phase is, however, largely compensated for by excluding the possibility of separation of the bearing.
A bearing according to the present invention could be made in tubular form to be fitted on one of the two spokes and having an external surface in contact with the other spoke.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the external-surface is configured with a complementer longitudinal groove direction inclined with respect to the axis of the aforesaid through hole by an angle corresponding to the angle at which the two spokes cross one another.
Preferably, the aforesaid bearing is made of plastic or elastomeric material. It can thus function as an anti-friction and anti-noise material by preventing direct rubbing between the two spokes, which may occur as the bicycle is travelling.
The present invention contemplates a spoked wheel comprising a plurality of pairs of spokes that cross one another and a bearing of the type described above set at the point of crossing-over of one or more pairs of spokes.